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A Filmmaker's Review: 'One Hour Photo' (2002)

4/5—An imposing thriller in which Robin Williams will terrorise his audience

By Annie KapurPublished 4 years ago 3 min read
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This film had its ups and downs and as much as I adore Robin Williams, I feel like the main problem with this film was the way in which the story was told. The confusion stemmed from not really knowing the 'why' and thus, it becomes a bit of a challenge to follow especially in the latter half and towards the ending of the movie. Be that as it may, the film had many advantages that make it one of those films you cannot help but watch over and over again, looking for clues and seeing if there is even one little thing you missed.

My history with this movie is short. Upon the film coming to TV, which was for me, about 6 years after its release in the cinema—I already wanted to watch it having seen Patch Adams a billion times, I really liked Robin Williams' acting. But, my friend's mother watched it and said it wasn't for people of our age group—at this time I was about 12 years old and I had actually no idea what the film was about. When I did get round to it, the film was not on TV but I borrowed it from the university library in the first year of my undergraduate degree. I never actually got around to fully seeing it, I watched the first five minutes and then began studying for an exam I had in Shakespeare. Now, I finally got around to watching it on the very day that this review is being written and so, you get a fresh take on this film by me—someone who spent over ten years actually trying to get around to watching this film. I'm really glad I did. But I'm also really glad I waited for when I was emotionally ready.

The first thing I really enjoyed about this film was the concept. The film's major story point is based around the photographs and so a connection is made instantly between the woman who takes them, the woman who arrives at the photo developing shop one day (the lady whom the affair is with) and the man behind the counter (Seymour Parrish portrayed by Robin Williams). Now that we've got this, we get another connection established when Seymour gives the child a free camera for his birthday—establishing an emotional connection to the boy and thus, it becomes more clear what the intentions are of Seymour when he takes threatening photographs of his boss's infant daughter playing with a doll on the lawn. The establishment of the obsessive is done through these photographs and it only gets more and more extreme until he's finally arrested.

The second thing I really enjoyed was Robin Williams' acting style. The acting was brilliant. Now, I don't know many comedians that can pull off some serious acting, but for a comedian to actively pursue and pull off a film that can be considered a psychological horror/thriller is something nearly unheard of. The talent and the smoothness of the performance is something to be revered. It's a brilliant jigsaw that incorporates normality of lifestyle with the obsessiveness of a Hamlet-esque character. Something incredible and a performance that in your lifetime, cannot be missed.

Regarding the storyline, though the plot and concept are good—the way in which the story is told can make it confusing to understand exactly what is going on especially later on in the film. By the time the film ends, we understand that Seymour faces jail, the mother has got a new partner and the father can visit the child and the officer drops him off. The one thing that doesn't make sense though is the very end of the film. The end of the film when we see that final photograph doesn't really add up. Does this mean he is part of the family or are we just seeing the final image in his head before he heads to jail? What is it exactly that we are seeing here and why is it so important for us to see it right at that moment?

It is a joy to watch such incredible acting by the late, great Robin Williams and I can honestly say that it is probably one of the best films of the 21st Century so far. An instant classic and a twisted tale, it leaves little to the imagination and yet, keeps us on our toes with photographic timelines and tears of blood.

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About the Creator

Annie Kapur

190K+ Reads on Vocal.

English Lecturer

🎓Literature & Writing (B.A)

🎓Film & Writing (M.A)

🎓Secondary English Education (PgDipEd)

📍Birmingham, UK

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